Updated: Arts & Culture Guide 

The Cape Cod Commission has released an updated arts and culture guide, "Leveraging Cultural Assets in Economic Development on Cape Cod."  

Cape Cod has a storied history of arts and culture, inspiring generations of talented artists and makers to create, design, and perform, helping to attract residents and visitors. The 2019 Cape Cod Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) highlights the importance of arts and culture as a growing economic sector for the region.  

The guide is intended to share best practices and lessons learned, inspire collaboration, strategic planning, and build stronger ties between creativity and commerce. This new guide is an update to the one published ten years ago,  “Leveraging Cultural Assets for Economic Development: A Practical Guide for Municipal Investment in Arts & Culture on Cape Cod,” which describes how municipalities can design initiatives that maximize a community’s cultural assets in order to create a vibrant and attractive destination for visitors and business investment. In addition, the Commission has worked with the towns of Wellfleet and Orleans to create cultural asset inventories. 

The recently released guide provides an overview of the economic impact of the arts and culture sector, including information on employment and wages. It highlights sector challenges and opportunities for growth, providing case studies on Cape Cod and beyond. It includes ways that arts are currently integrated into local and regional planning efforts, identifies resources for those working in the sector, and provides recommendations to support and expand impact over the next ten years.  

The original guide was intended specifically for municipal officials integrating cultural initiatives into local planning. The audience for the 2019 update is expanded to include businesses, non-profits, historic and cultural institutions, and individual artists in the sector.  

The hope is that the expanded audience leverages the economic information about the sector’s impact and utilizes resources provided when pursuing funding. The guide’s recommendations may help to inform strategic planning by local arts and culture leaders.  

Click here to read the guide: Leveraging Cultural Assets in Economic Development on Cape Cod.